Two Sides to Every Face
by MusingWordsmith
Summary: Superhero AU. Zuko is the teenage superhero the Blue Spirit. He puts on a mask to keep the two separate. But it's beginning to seem like it's not doing any good.
1. Scarring

_Crash!_

"Would you watch it? You almost took my head off!" The Blue Spirit snapped as he nimbly sidestepped flying debris with inhuman grace.

"Oh, ho, the dashing hero is nearly felled by the great and powerful Runaway!" the girl crowed, jerking her fist back. The Blue Spirit's 'sense' pricked. He fell flat on the ground just in time to avoid getting his head smashed in by a mailbox.

The Blue Spirit hissed, he _hated_ fighting telekinetics. He shot to his feet. Just in time for a slab of concrete to fly at his face. This time he pulled his fist back and punched it. It shattered into smaller pieces. His sense promptly screamed that had been a bad idea. The storm of sidewalk bits suddenly careening towards him an instant later backed it up.

"Great, you just gave her some more ammo. Good going, Blue," his partner snarked from her position behind a dumpster.

The Blue Spirit growled, leaping up to avoid the worst of the storm. "Any time you want to jump in, Bender!" he shot back. The flurry of sharp, stony pieces changed course, speeding towards him. He drew his swords and began hacking at them in a blur of motion.

"Yeah, that's right," an annoying voice crowed from his earpiece. "She can't throw them around if they're too small. Good idea, Zuko!"

"Do you not get the concept of a _secret_ identity, _Boomerang_?" The Blue Spirit snapped back. He slammed his fist down on a piece of debris, shattering it into smaller pieces. This time it fell to the ground and _stayed_ there.

"Sorry," the sheepish voice echoed back.

The Blue Spirit rolled his eyes and glanced over to check on Bender. She was standing out in the open, her cover gone.

"And the villain rejoices!" the Runaway crowed. The Blue Spirit glanced up, and saw the dumpster hanging over Bender's head. "For this time, she has succeeded in defeating her nemesis, and now there is nothing stopping her from ruling the world! Muahahahaha!" she threw her head back in a childish laugh.

Bender sighed and looked up at The Blue Spirit. "Cover me?" she asked, gesturing upwards.

"Always," he answered, jumping down to stand beside her.

The Runaway abruptly stopped laughing, knowing what was coming next. Bender moved to match her body language to the other girl's. "But our villain spoke too soon," she began, and Bender made her move.

Abruptly, Bender jerked her hands down and dropped to her knees, and the Runaway followed. The dumpster fell from the sky, but the Blue Spirit reached up and easily caught it, setting it carefully back down where it belonged.

"Alas, another sound defeat for our villain," Toph Beifong lamented.

"Next time we won't be so nice," Katara warned darkly, getting to her feet and wiping some of the grime off. "Urgh, did you have to pick today? I have a test tomorrow! I should be studying!" she complained, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at the younger girl.

"Police incoming, about two minutes," Boomerang chirped in their earpieces. The Blue Spirit and Bender ignored him.

"Hey, a girl's gotta have fun somehow," Toph said philosophically, shrugging as much as she could under Bender's control. "Besides, I wanted to see if Kicks was okay," she continued. "Heard you took a pretty bad hit fighting Combustion Man the other day," she mentioned to the Blue Spirit, a note of concern entering her voice.

"First, it's the Blue Spirit," he answered crossly, folding his arms. "Second, I'm fine." His tone softened slightly, "Between Bender and my healing factor it just took a couple days to get back to full strength."

"I like Kicks better," the girl quipped. "Sounds like the cops are here," she added, smirking. "See ya around Kicks, Sweets."

The sirens reached the Blue Spirit's ears and he reached over to rest his hand on Bender's shoulder. She nodded and they jogged over to the nearest fire escape.

"Maybe next time try doing something that won't end up with you in jail," Bender called over her shoulder as she climbed up, the Blue Spirit right on her heels.

"No promises," Toph shouted, a grin on her face as she remained on her knees, hands locked in a crossed position in her lap. She remained there until Bender released her when the police arrived and the two heroes were on their way to their base.

Although 'base' may overstate the ramshackle hole-in-the-ground the trio had declared their own. It had been been a fairly nice bank, once upon a time. However after Swamp Vine and the ever-theatrical Boulder had gone head-to-head in it, not much had been left standing. Fortunately for them, the basement floor had been spared enough damage to be relatively safe, and between Boomerang's brain and the Blue Spirit's strength, they were able to reinforce it enough to set up a hideout.

"Good going, team!" Sokka greeted them with a wide smile and two bottles of cold water as they ducked through the 'door'. "Another dastardly, villainous plot foiled!"

Removing her mask, Katara took the offered bottle gratefully and collapsed on their couch, which gave an ominous _creeeee-aaak_. "It was just Toph, Sokka. It's not like it was anyone _dangerous,_ "she groused, uncapping her bottle and taking a swig.

The Blue Spirit pulled off his own mask and Zuko gratefully accepted the other one, tearing the lid off and downing a good quarter of it in one go.

"What are you talking about? The Runaway's plenty dangerous," Sokka squawked indignantly. "Do you remember what happened New Year's?"

The trio shuddered. "But that was when she was under the control of the Puppetmaster," Zuko reminded him. "Otherwise she's pretty content to make a mess, some noise, and go home."

"She just wants attention," Katara complained, sitting up so her brother could sink down beside her. "Just some spoiled rich kid who needs to go out and rob a bank to get some excitement in her life," she spit out, crossing her arms and glowering at the wall.

"Eh, fair enough," Sokka allowed with a shrug. "But speaking of rich people," he said, tone turning serious as he leaned forwards. "I've got an update on the Fire Lord's movements."

Zuko's breath caught in his throat. Fire Lord. The mysterious figure who had been plaguing the city since Zuko was a child. Suspected in being behind numerous incident of wide scale destruction. Including the incident in which Zuko's mother had been killed. "What did you find out?" he asked, stepping closer to his geeky friend.

"Woah, back up there Mr. Loomy," Sokka drawled, leaning back and holding his hands up. Zuko scowled at him. "Ooooor not, I guess that works too," Sokka huffed. He got to his feet and eased around Zuko, limping over to the desk where his laptop set. "I found some intel that suggests our favorite flame-flinger is going to be getting some new sort of superweapon," Sokka stated, sliding down into his chair and sinking a few inches as it settled. He tapped a few keys, bringing up a window displaying the information.

Zuko leaned over his shoulder, scanning it. "It seemed to be codenamed 'Avatar', but there's no clue what it does," he read, frustration leaking into his tone.

"But whatever it is, he's paying some big bucks," Sokka jumped in, tapping the screen. Zuko glanced down and felt his eyebrows climb. That was a lot of zeros.

"Any clues on where this 'Avatar' might be?" Katara asked, coming over to join them.

"It looks like the exchange will be happening soon," Zuko read. "Two days from now in fact."

"I've got a list of places where the deal might be going down," Sokka jumped in. "I looked at what we know of their preferred meeting places and listed the places that fit both criteria."

"Great! That'll give us a place to start!" Katara interjected, planting her hands on her hips and beaming.

"Eh about that," Sokka grimaced. With another key click, he summoned up a new page,"It's a pretty long list."

As he scrolled, and scrolled, and scrolled down the page Zuko felt his stomach sink. "We're not even going to be able to make that test are we?" he sighed.

"Looks like we've got a rough time ahead of us," Sokka moaned.

"We? Who's this we? You're going to sit around and tell us what to do while we do all the hard work," Katara sniped, swatting her brother.

"Hey, someone's got to be the brains of this operation," Sokka retorted.

Zuko groaned and went to go sink down on the couch, pressing the water bottle to his head. It was times like this that he could almost forget how hard the two worked. Katara at keeping her power over flesh and blood from hurting anyone ever again, like she had accidentally done to her brother as a child. Sokka at supporting his sister and Zuko, in every way from listing places the bad guys would be meeting to doing their homework when they were too exhausted to do it themselves.

Although he still questioned why Sokka had to call himself _Boomerang_ of all things.

Zuko tipped his head back, draining the last of the water. Crumpling the plastic into a ball, he got to his feet and called out to his partners. "If we want to find their meeting place, we should start looking. Sokka?"

Abruptly, the two ceased their argument and Sokka nodded. "Here's the plan. I got into our stock of surveillance equipment and linked them up on a video network I can access from my phone. You guys go around, plant one at the locations, and I'll get a ping when something moves."

"Sounds like a plan," Katara agreed.

Sokka beamed, "I know, right? Anyway, here's your packs and the locations you'll need to plant them at."

Zuko glanced over at Bender, who already had her mask back on. "Bet I get done before you," she called over her shoulder, already bounding out the door. Zuko grabbing his mask and followed, feeling a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Just remember, call for backup if there's any trouble. Good luck B-Team!" Boomerang's voice sounded in his ear.

"Copy that," the Blue Spirit replied, and sprinted off to his first destination.

* * *

Zuko had been on pins and needles for two days. Had they managed to bug the place the meeting would go down? Was the bug planted somewhere that would pick up the villains? Had they even got the right time or was there some sort of code they completely missed out on?

It was a couple hours after Zuko had got home from school when he got his answer. He was trying to study despite the questions circling around his brain when his phone rang, Sokka's ridiculous face lighting up the screen. Zuko grabbed for it so fast he fumbled and dropped it on the floor.

Quickly he snatched it up, hitting the 'answer' button. "What have you got?" he barked.

"Hello to you too, Mr. Congeniality," Sokka greeted. "We've got a hit," he continued before Zuko could growl at him for wasting time.

"Where?" Zuko demanded. Sokka rattled off the address.

"Be careful though," Sokka added. "You're only about five minutes away- me and Bender are closer to half an hour," he warned.

"I will," Zuko promised. "See you soon," he tossed out before hanging up. This was it, they'd finally meet the Fire Lord in the flesh, and Zuko would make him pay for his mother's death.

* * *

At first, there was no sign the abandoned warehouse was any different from the many others throughout the city. Until the Blue Spirit looked closer and saw the muscle posted in out of the way spots, obviously armed and on guard. He would have to be careful.

Keeping to the shadows, the Blue Spirit crept around to a shattered window. It was too high off the ground for a normal person to reach without a ladder, but then, who said the Blue Spirit was normal?

The Blue Spirit jumped and grabbed hold of the bottom of the sill and heaved himself inside. Luckily for him, an old shelving unit was just below the window, so he let himself drop with a muffled _thud._ He crouched down and peered over the edge where he had a clear view of the exchange.

"Are you satisfied?" a smooth, cultured voice asked. Fire Lord. The hair on the back of the Blue Spirit's neck stood up and he gripped the edge of the shelving unit tightly, just shy of causing it to buckle under his fingers. Peering down, he could see the imposing figure of the Fire Lord and the smaller figure of another male he couldn't place. Both had their backs to him, standing in front of some sort of- deep freezer? With a glass lid too frosted over for the Blue Spirit to see through from his position.

"Very," a young voice answered. The Blue Spirit recognized that voice, he'd gone undercover in the other boy's gang at one point. Jet. "Well, it's all yours. Have fun with your new toy."

"Oh, I will," the Fire Lord assured. The Blue Spirit's skin crawled. Footsteps echoed as Jet left, leaving the Blue Spirit alone with the Fire Lord.

Things were silent a moment, then the Fire Lord spoke, "I know you're there, boy. Why don't you stop sulking in the shadows like a common criminal and come out and face me?"

The Blue Spirit's breath caught. How? How had he known? Well, no use hiding then. The Blue Spirit jumped down, drawing his swords the minute his feet touched the floor.

"So, you came to steal my new weapon," the Fire Lord sneered, turning to face the Blue Spirit. His mask, a twisted image of a red and black demon leered at him. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

Only the Blue Spirit's sense kept him from burning. He ducked to the side. The Fire Lord charged at him. It took every ounce of Blue Spirit's speed to avoid the swinging fists.

The Fire Lord wasn't just pyrokenetic, the Blue Spirit realized with horror. His sense screamed and he ducked, the Fire Lord's fist swinging over his head and slamming into the shelving unit. It almost sheered the strut in two.

 _He's got the same powers I have- plus fire!_ The Blue Spirit sliced at the Fire Lord. Wide, sweeping slashes meant to put distance between them more than do any damage.

The Fire Lord retreated, but immediately lashed out with a whip of flame. The Blue Spirit raised his swords to block, only for his sense to scream a warning. He twisted just in time. A second whip that would have burned into his lung instead glanced off his ribcage. Pain flared up and the Blue Spirit cried out.

"I will make you _suffer_!" roared the Fire Lord, charging at him once again.

The Blue Spirit rolled, gasping as it pulled the burned skin on his side. He wasn't going to win this fight. He wasn't even going to be able to hold out long enough for backup. The least he could do was throw a wrench in the Fire Lord's plans.

The Blue Spirit ran for the freezer. The Fire Lord roared a protest, but it was too late. The Blue Spirit smashed the hilts of his swords down in the top of the unit. Immediately a sickly green glow began emitting. His sense screamed a warning and the Blue Spirit turned- just in time for a firey fist to smash into his eye. Searing agony erupted around his eye. There was nothing but pain. The Blue Spirit screamed, and knew no more.

* * *

Awareness crept slowly up on Zuko like a cat stalking it's prey. At first, everything was fuzzy, warm, and welcoming, until the pain hit.

Suddenly awake, Zuko shot bolt upright, clutching his face with a scream burbling up inside. He'd been in the middle of a fight and- and.

"Zuko! Calm down, you're safe," Katara's voice said, her gentle hand resting on his back. He felt her take one of his hands in her own, squeezing gently as she pulled it away from his face. "It's okay, you're alive," she said soothingly, rubbing his back as Zuko took a deep, shuddering breath.

"What- happened?" he asked and winced at the harsh, unfamiliar rasp in his voice."The last thing I remember was-" he cut off, hand darting up towards his face.

Katara captured it in her own, bringing it back down to his lap. "You were very badly injured," she said gently. "I did my best, but. . . It was bad Zuko."

"How bad?" he asked hoarsely, looking up to meet her concerned gaze.

"First of all, how's your vision? Any blurriness? Distortion?" she asked, letting go of his hands to rummage in their first aid kid.

Zuko paused, glancing around the base to check. Everything still looked the same. Except for the strange kid with strange blue markings standing awkwardly off to the side. "No," he grunted as Katara pulled out the penlight. "Who's the kid?" he asked, studying him intently.

"Zuko, meet Aang," Sokka introduced, throwing his arm over the kid's shoulders. "He's the Avatar you rescued from the Fire Lord."

"Yep, that's me, Aang the Avatar," the kid said with a small, shaky laugh.

"And that's not important right now," Katara interjected sharply. "I'm going to check your pupils now Zuko, all right?" she continued, gentling her tone.

Zuko grunted, but turned his face back to Katara. Her bedside manner was only as good as her patient's behavior, and that combined with her power meant Zuko had quickly learned to behave when she was doctoring him. He had been perfectly happy not knowing Katara's control was fine enough to force blinking on demand.

"Pupil response normal, in both eyes," Katara noted, tucking it away. "Any pain? Dizziness? Other symptoms?" she asked.

"No, I feel fine," Zuko reported. At Katara's piercing look, he held up his hands defensively. "I'm not lying, I really do feel fine."

Katara didn't look completely convinced, but she tucked away the penlight. "If your sure there's no other symptoms," she paused, and Zuko nodded, "I guess you're healed then," she proclaimed.

Finally. Zuko started to get to his feet, only for Katara to push him back down. "Hold on a second, there's still something I need to talk to you about."

That didn't sound good. Eyeing her expression, a raw seriousness she didn't wear often, Zuko concluded it didn't look good either. Slowly, he sank back down on the couch.

"Well, like I said before, your injury was very severe," Katara informed, locking her hands behind her as she paced up and down in front of her. "It was- Zuko you should have died," she stopped, meeting his eyes. "Your _skull_ was caved in, your eye was- it wasn't _there._ And that's not even counting the burn damage." Tears began to fill her eyes. Sokka stepped forwards, looping his arm around her shoulders. Katara turned towards him, burying her face in his shoulder.

"Aang had the whole warehouse covered in some sort of green glow, including you," Sokka picked up the story. "Katara asked him if he could help, begged him to if he could. The next thing I know, the comms, video equipment and my laptop all blow out. I took off to go look for you, only to find Katara hauling you and Aang's unconscious bodies back towards the base."

Katara took a shuddering breath, pulling away from her brother. "I blacked out for a second when Aang did. . . Whatever it I was. There was _nothing_ of the warehouse left when I came to. Your face had been mostly healed, and I did what I could for the rest but. . ."

"But what?" Zuko demanded, fists clenching into the couch frame. It let out a squeal of protest and he started, forcing himself to let go.

"You should probably see for yourself," Sokka said, handing Zuko his phone.

He already had it set to 'selfie' mode. Zuko stared. The right side of his face still looked normal, his golden eye widening in shock. However, on the left. . .

The left side of his face resembled a flame. His eye was the center of it, and it stretched all the way back his temple, up into his hair, and down his cheekbone. It was hideous.

 _Crunch!_

Zuko didn't even realize he'd smashed the phone until the broken pieces scattered on the ground. Everyone froze, Zuko's rasping breaths the only sound heard. Some idiot started laughing. Dimly, he realized that was him.

"Hey, hey, man, breathe," Sokka said. "C'mon, in, and out, in, and out."

Zuko struggled to match his breathing to Sokka's. Finally, he got himself under control. "Sorry," he muttered, staring at his hands.

"I know how it is," Sokka said with a half shrug and a wry grin.

Zuko felt his gaze dart down towards Sokka's leg. He pulled his eyes away, staring fixedly on the wall. "S'not the same," he rasped. "I just got a stupid scar. You-"

"No!" Sokka snapped, waving his finger in his face. "You quit that right now. So I got a limp, big deal, I'm used to it. I've had _years_ to get used to it. Zuko, you've had minutes. It's not the same, so stop acting like it is."

Zuko hunched his shoulders, staring at his hands. Slowly, he reached up and felt the scar. Hard, leathery, _wrong._

"You wanna come crash at our place for the night?" Sokka offered. "Dad's been worried about you, he'd be glad to have a chance to check up on you."

"I should go home," Zuko muttered. His dad would wonder where he was. He'd ask questions if Zuko wasn't there. Questions Zuko didn't feel like answering. Then again, there would be questions if he did go home like- this.

"As the closest thing you have to a doctor," Katara announced, "I disagree. Look," she said, tone turning gentle, "you have trouble dealing with your dad when your at your best, give yourself a day or two to get used to this before you have to go home and face him."

He should protest. He should refuse. He didn't have the will to. "Okay," he acquiesced quietly.

"Great!" Sokka crowed. "Don't you worry about it Zuko, we'll make this the best sleepover you've ever had. You'll forget all about that scar in no time," he promised, giving his friend a bright, cheesy grin. "Oh, yeah, Aang, you're coming too," he added, almost as an afterthought.

"Sleepover? What are you, in grade school?" Katara mocked. "I can't believe I'm related to you."

Letting the familiar sibling banter wash over him, with Aang's unfamiliar voice jumping in, Zuko followed his friends out the door. For now, he would rest and recover, learn to deal with his new face.

But soon he would have to go home and face his father.

* * *

 **AN: I feel like I need to disclaim that I actually really do like Toph. She's one of the best characters on the show. I just apparently think she makes a really good villain?**

 **Anyway, for those of you wondering where the next chapter of the Remix is, it's on it's final draft. Just got hit with some writer's block. I've had this ready for a while, just wanted to get one final pass from the beta. Shout out to WriterGirl7673 for the help!  
**


	2. Introducing the Blue Pheonix

She stood, muscles aching, heart pounding, nearly trembling with exhaustion. Adrenaline purer than she had ever felt before flooded her veins. It was the only thing that kept her on her feet.

In front of her, her opponent was on his hands and knees. She watched him struggle to get up, gripping one sword tightly. The other had been melted to scrap when she had burned his arm. The stench of burned flesh blanketed the area. She could have finished him off, here and now. She didn't.

Instead, she watched him painfully climb to his feet and attempt to stare her down. Pitiful.

"You know, I almost feel sorry for you," she said, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "You were outmatched from the start."

"You just wait till-" the Blue Spirit began to say.

"Yes, yes, your partner gets here. Bender, is it?" she said, examining her perfectly manicured nails. "I do believe we have a few more minutes so I believe we should make this quick."

The Blue Spirit shifted, preparing to defend himself. She rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be stupid. I'm not going to kill you. At least, not today."

"Then why?" he rasped.

She smiled, sharp and dangerous. Pity he couldn't see that under her mask. Why indeed?

 _Earlier_

 _She stood in the doorway to her father's study. Her father rarely allowed them into his sanctuary. To be specifically summoned was unheard of._

" _Ah, daughter," her father said, rising to his feet. "So glad you could make it." He smiled down at her, his shadow engulfing her smaller figure._

" _Oh there was nothing urgent," she said flippantly, stepping to the side and into the light. "I didn't see my dear brother around anywhere."_

" _Do not speak of him," her father growled darkly. Oh, so brother dearest had done something to disappoint their father? "Come," he continued in a more congenial manner, "let me show you something I have never shown to anyone else."_

 _She barely kept a slight gasp from escaping. "Of course, Father," she said, voice shaking slightly. She found she didn't care too much._

 _With a sharp, dangerous smile, her father pressed a button under his desk and a door panel slid back to reveal a hidden elevator. He stepped inside, and she followed him into the muted light._

Now

"Today was meant as a warning," she said, idly summoning a bit of her fire and enjoying the Blue Spirit's flinch as she let it flicker around her fingers. "My master isn't happy with you. You took something precious from him, and he wants it back."

"The Avatar," croaked the Blue Spirit. "You serve the Fire Lord."

"Oh look, it does have a brain after all," she mocked. "I thought you outsourced that to your _sidekick._ "

"How do you know about him?!" snarled the Blue Spirit, lunging towards her. Instinctively, she threw up her hands and a wall of flame surged up, halting his advance.

"Now now now," she mocked, smoothly covering how her heart was pounding in excitement and a little fear. "If you're going to be that way I may just have to leave before I finish delivering my message."

The Blue Spirit hesitated, then stepped back, lowering his sword. "Continue," he grumbled.

She smirked, but noted that the Blue Spirit's wounds were already showing signs of healing. His file had noted his healing factor, but to see it in action was breathtaking. She envied it.

 _Earlier_

 _It had been a shock. To find out her father was not only a superpower, but a villain, and the_ Fire Lord _at that? She had to wonder, is that why she had never been able to truly win his affection? All her attempts to be_ good _had only disgusted him? She stood, staring into the eyes of her father and trying to process what she had just been told._

" _Are you going to turn me in, my daughter?" her father asked, reaching out to cup her cheek in his strong hand._

" _No, no of course not," she stuttered. "I- I just wonder why you told me all this," she asked, hating how her voice faltered. Her father was the only one who could ever cause that._

 _Her father's hand turned hard, gripping her face and holding it in place, meeting his eyes. "It is because I need a partner," he murmured. His voice was like candlelight, beautiful and peaceful. Until you touched it and burned._

 _She felt like she was burning. And freezing. "A- partner?" she croaked, her throat suddenly dry._

 _Her father nodded, a silky smile stealing across his face. "Yes daugher," he said as he let her go to stride across the room. "You see, I sought to create a formula to empower others with my abilities. Unfortunately, no one survived the testing process. Except for one."_

 _He tapped a few buttons on a keyboard, and the mask of the Blue Spirit popped up on the screen. "This_ thief _broke into my laboratory and stole some of my formula to use on himself. I have managed to figure out why it worked on him, and have modified my formula to match."_

 _She stared at the twisted visage of the mask. The Blue Spirit. Her friends all thought him a hero. Yet, what kind of hero steals his powers? So caught up in her whirling thoughts was she, she didn't notice her father's movements until he spoke. "So, daughter, what do you say?" he asked as she started, whirling to see him standing at the entrance to a medical bay. "Will you join me?"_

 _She stared at the pulsing red glow of the liquid in the syringe and could swear her heart beat in turn with it. "What else could I do?" she commented archly._

 _Present_

"I know a lot more about you than you'd like, Blue Spirit," she said, crossing her arms to hide the trembling in them. "But that isn't what this little get-together is about. It's about warning you to give up while you have the chance. Next time, I might not have orders to let you live."

"Who are you?" the Blue Spirit asked. "Why did you stay hidden until now?"

She smirked, flicking her fingers up and letting little tongues of fire play around them. Not one went towards the Blue Spirit. He flinched anyway. "Well, I suppose I do need a name, don't I?" she mused. Smirking, she laid her hand flat, a little ball of bright, blue flame shimmering above it. "You're the Blue Spirit, so I suppose I may have to be the Blue Phoenix. Don't you think it suits me?" she asked, cocking her hip and laying her free hand on it. "As for the other, well, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

Sirens began to finally blare. "That's my cue," she said dispelling her flames. "I suppose I'll be seeing you around, Spirit."

There was no response from the superhero, but she didn't expect one. She turned and ran, making sure to take a long, indirect route back to her father's lair.

When she arrived, her father was sitting at his computer, small screen up and keys tapping away. As soon as she was close enough to see what he was doing, he switched to a feed of the battlefield she had just left. "How did it go?" he asked, as if he hadn't been watching the whole thing.

"It was even easier than you said," she reported, pulling off her mask and locking her hands behind her back. "He seemed quite frightened of my fire."

"A fact you took full advantage of," her father observed smoothly. He stood, turning towards her and engulfing her in his shadow. "I'm so proud of you, Azula."


End file.
